Toothie the Tooth Fairy

Olivia's first tooth fell out the other day. It was a long wait for that tooth to come out! We first got word that it was loose in November at her last dentist apointment. It rattled around in her mouth for a long time. I was getting pretty grossed out by in as Olivia would push it with her tongue and it would be horizontal in her mouth. I could see it hanging by just a thread.
I had my own dentist apt on Thursday and I asked my hygienist about the best way to pull it out...or actually the best way to tell Brad to pull it out while I hid on the other side of the house. I just didn't think I could do it!
She gave me a few tips, gauze over the tooth, twist and pull or tie dental floss around it and pull the ends.
I remember losing a few of my own teeth. I remember biting the headrest in my parents volvo and my dad stopping short and my two top teeth coming out...that seems like an easy way to get them out!
Olivia got a visit from the tooth fairy that night (she swears she heard her that night) and can't wait for her next tooth to come out.

Olivia turns 5 in NYC!

For Olivia's 5th birthday, we took a big trip to New York City (sadly, the kids first time there...shame on us!). They had a BLAST! We took the subway (Luke's favorite part, even though a panhandler came through, he likes to tell everyone about the man sleeping on the train) and went to the American Girl Place (Olivia's favorite place). For her birthday, we let her pick out her first doll there. It was an overwhelming experience, 3 floors of dolls, clothes and accessories. Luckily we had been studying in advance and had many magazines stashed around the house. So, Olivia knew which doll she wanted when we got there. (not that she was influenced by her mom in any way at all)

She was so excited to take her doll home! She was sweetly spoiled by her grandparents who bought her outfits and matching pj's which she loves to wear with her doll (who sleeps next to her on a pillow) and her aunt Jess and uncle Kevin who bought her doll her very own pet, Pepper, who sleeps in a little basket next to her at night. (Olivia proves to be the best pet keeper in our house since Pepper is always comfy in his basket, Luke's zhu zhu hamster is missing again)

After the store, we headed to the American Museum of Natural History. We had so much fun there. I haven't been there in years, but I remembered a few things like the enormous whale hanging from the ceiling in the oceans room. The butterfly room was really cool, and the kids loved the planetarium (Luke likes to tell everyone that stars are made of gas). All in all, it was a great day!
Here is her doll Rebecca dressed in her movies outfit. (I think I influenced Olivia's choice in doll because she had the nicest clothes, I'm saving up to buy her the flapper dress)

New Years Resolutions

I never make New Year's Resolutions because they are always the things I can't follow through on:
Keep better track of the finances (I usually pay attention for the first two weeks and then just defer to Brad)
Get in shape (this one I jumpstarted back in October, so take that Jan 1!)
Have more patience
Communicate (shooting dirty looks doesn't count as communicating)
Get organized (I got better last year, but I'm still lacking)

This year I'm going to make an effort to put some pictures in albums (like the ones from when Luke was born...oops, it's been a while)
Finish editing more family videos (that no one seems to care to watch - except the Disney trip, but I know one day we'll laugh at)
Maybe find a part time job (but seriously, how can I when I have Luke with me all the time? )
Get a babysitter more (twice in 2009 is a record for us)
Actually send mail to people (paper mail, not email)
Clean up the toys more often (the excuse that they'll play with them tomorrow, what's the point is not going to cut it in 2010!)
And whip my kids in shape. Luke has us totally at his mercy for whatever he wants and Olivia has horrible table manners. So, the discipline books are back on the table (not to be used as coasters) and I'm dusting off the naughty step. I might have to DVR the Super Nanny a few times (though those kids always make mine look perfect)
As president of my MOMs club, I am going to make an effort to get people more involved in things (though I've learned you can't make people do things by just talking about it to other people...I should really just call people)
That brings me to another resolution...call people. I'm horrible. I don't have to call my sister too much since she always calls me first, but I am terrible about calling people (I love to text). So, I'll make an effort to call people more.
We're 3 days into the new year...will I be able to get any of this accomplished in the next 362 days?

Christmas part 2

In NJ, the kids were spoiled again. They got four Christmas' this year (not to be confused with that Reese Witherspoon movie).

I can't believe we all missed the photo op that was Olivia and I in matching dresses (this could be a one time thing people!) You can see the print in the top photo of Olivia. Hers was a cuter cut, but we looked pretty cool in our matching dresses (yes, I made them).

Luke got a slightly creepy Jets book, that he loves (it's in heavy rotation with his Yankee books). It's a good thing the Jets had a decent season. Though I might have to hide it when local friends come over (Patriot fans are rough).

After the Krout's we headed to my dads at the shore for our third Christmas. Despite Luke showing off his bad side he was lucky enough to get some presents. They really had a great time hanging out with their new dog Sienna. She's a very nice and quiet dog (the kind that make us wonder about getting a dog of our own...see hamster story below) and she didn't mind the kids chasing her (well, she was shaking in her boots a bit). I had bought a jacket for Sienna that we all laughed about because it was a "medium" but maybe for a cat...it was WAY too tiny for her!

Christmas part one

Olivia and Luke spent an entire month rehearsing what they wanted for Christmas, telling every Santa we visited that they would like "Shake and Go Extreme" (Luke) and a "Tiana Barbie" (Olivia). Despite a few threats for bad behavior, Santa came through and on Christmas morning, there was the Shake and go track all set up (tiana was wrapped). Olivia was down first and I'm pretty sure California heard her yelling about the Shake and Go cars.

You know that toy that the kids really, really, really have to have (Zhu Zhu hamsters - another story), well I thought the cars would be that gift that was really wanted and then didn't pay off. Well, Luke really picked a winner! Aside from being super loud, it's a really cool car track. The kids have to shake up the cars (hey, a bit of exercise) and then put them on the track to see them go around and around. Brad and I have had a few races too!

Olivia did love her Tiana, but it didn't have the same reaction that the Shake and Go's got!

All in all they loved their gifts (a few throw back toys, Etch a Sketch and Jenga) but even the super hard to find Zhu Zhu's were pushed to the side eventually (seriously, do they know how lucky they are that Santa happened to be at Walmart that one morning at 7:30 when a few were put on the shelves??). One of the hamsters was lost for an entire week before he was found again (another reason we can't have pets right now).

We tortured them by letting them open their gifts, play for about an hour and then dressed them up for our trip to NJ!

I'm a foodie

Look, I'm blogging about food!! It's no secret that I love to cook. While Brad has the desire to one day be a chef, I stick to cooking for family and friends. It drives me nuts when I cook a really complicated meal and the kids don't eat it. I was a picky eater as a child...and though I still stray from tuna and sushi and brussell sprouts, I am making strides to try different things all the time.

I am in no way a "chef" since I can only cook by recipe (I would starve without my plethora of cooking magazines and cookbooks). And I am a snob about where my recipes come from (not from Woman's World mom). But, I have to say I haven't really made any bad meals yet (Brad you are SO lucky). This also means that the kids know around 4:30 I dissappear into the kitchen for our 6 o'clock meal.

The photo above was what I made for our neighbors for the holidays. A holiday cake including pumpkin, nuts, cranberries and apples (seriously, I had problems with the pumpkin part...sounded gross, but actually tasted divine). There was a maple icing and the best part of all, sugared cranberries. They were like candy. You made a simple syrup, tossed the cranberries in, let them sit over night and then roll them in superfine sugar. Awesome.

One of my neighbors asked for the recipe, which made me feel good, then sort of lame since I got the recipe from a blog Brad found!

Catching up a bit

I wasn't even going to bother blogging anymore, but maybe I'll give it another go.

We've been so busy lately with all the holiday stuff that I have barely taken the time to plug the camera in! Between visits with Santa, phone calls from Santa and video messages, we're really ready for the big man. Seeing the excitement on their faces when they actually see Santa is so bittersweet. I get so excited for them that sometimes I actually tear up (pathetic)...yet sometimes I think about what it will be like when the stop believing. I hope the holidays don't become one big waiting game for what they're going to be getting. I try to instill in them the ideas of doing things for others and spending time with family, but who knows if it's sinking in yet!

Luke was a bit wary of Santa at first (sobbing as he told the first one that he wanted "Shake and Go Cars" for Christmas), but he quickly warmed up to the one at our holiday party who was shelling out candy canes. He waited patiently in line for his turn to tell Santa what he wanted. I'm so glad that the kids don't question why they are telling Santa for the fourth time what they want! The video message was probably one of the coolest things since that Santa was really authentic! Luke watched it 4 or 5 times and has shown it to some of his friends as well. We're hoping that he'll get that shake and go set under the tree on Friday!

How will they get through the next few days? How will i? Knowing what's in the boxes to play with is really bugging me. We've been cooped up all weekend and all I want to do is break out some new toys to play with. But, I can't spoil Christmas!!

Building the snow sliding mountain on our deck really reminded me of being a kid. My dad would always build us an ice slide on the front lawn. He'd pour water all over it and let it freeze and then we'd go shooting down the slide. It was so much fun. Not having a hill on our property doesn't give us many options for the slide, but we made do on the deck! (We actually didn't want to mess up the lawn too much, need the snow to stick around until Christmas!)